Sarkis joined SmarterTravel in 2003. She's always on the lookout for authentic local experiences and her next great meal. She loves discovering new destinations, predicting trends, and turning amazing travel experiences into inspiring stories.

Her stories have also appeared online at USA Today, Conde Nast Traveler, Yahoo! Travel, Huffington Post, Business Insider, and other publications. Her work has also been published in Spain from a Backpack and The Best Women's Travel Writing 2008. She is currently working on a travel memoir.

With so much food in the world to try, every traveler needs an excuse to snack between meals. Happily, many European countries build snacking right in to their culinary culture. In some places, it’s a light snack with a drink at the end of the day, in others, a sweet mid-afternoon pick-me-up. Head to the right country and you might even find a late-morning bite to bridge the wide gap between breakfast and lunch. Hungry? Then let’s go.

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(Photo: Christine Sarkis)

Cicchetti in Venice

Cicchetti (or cicheti, if you're spelling it the Venetian way) are small snacks found at bacari, small casual bars packed with locals in the early evenings. Usually displayed in a glass cabinet that's part of the bar counter, these finger foods can come on toothpicks or on slices of baguette.

What's your favorite bacaro for cicchetti in Venice? Share with other readers below!

(Photo: Christine Sarkis)

Cicchetti in Venice

Cicchetti (or cicheti, if you're spelling it the Venetian way) are small snacks found at bacari, small casual bars packed with locals in the early evenings. Usually displayed in a glass cabinet that's part of the bar counter, these finger foods can come on toothpicks or on slices of baguette.

Tapas in Spain

Sometimes snacks to accompany a drink, other times a meal of little bites, the tapas tradition in Spain is easy for visitors to embrace. Turn that quick bite into a culinary tour of a neighborhood by starting with a few tapas and a drink at one bar and then moving on to another for a second glass and a small plate or two.

Where to Try It: Barcelona's "tapas routes," along which bars and restaurants offer tapas and drinks for cheap prices, are becoming popular. Try Tapantoni in the Sant Antoni neighborhood. Or, if you've got patience and a hankering for tapas from the minds of Albert and Ferran Adria, try to score a booking at Tickets. In Madrid, go for classic tapas at La Bodega la Ardosa or bolder options at La Musa Latina.

Tea in the U.K.

The Brits are serious about tea, so it's no wonder they've built an entire meal subgenre around the beverage. With origins dating back to the 1830s, the late-afternoon snack has two distinct modern-day manifestations: the home version, which is usually a cup of tea and a sweet treat such as a scone, and the tearoom version, which traditionally includes tea plus a multitiered cake stand layered with sandwiches, scones, and sweet pastries.

Where to Try It: In London, there are a number of iconic tearooms, including Brown's Hotel, The Savoy, and Fortnum & Mason. Or, get yourself invited to a local's home for a relaxed and authentic version of the daily ritual.

Kaffee und Kuchen in Germany

If lunch and dinner simply feel too far apart, head to Germany for kaffee und kuchen. The coffee-and-cake break takes place sometime between 3 and 5 in the afternoon. While its popularity has waned in recent years, there's still nothing like the refreshing infusion of caffeine and sugar to help a peckish soul bridge the gap between lunch and dinner. And with hundreds of types of cakes to choose from, a dedicated traveler needs to take as many kaffee und kuchen breaks as possible to sample the sweetest of German cuisine.

Have you refreshed with kaffee und kuchen? Which cake was your favorite?

(Photo: Pousadas de Portugal)

Petiscos in Portugal

Here's what you need to know about petiscos: They're small, they're made to be nibbled on alongside a glass of beer or wine, and they're distinctly Portuguese. Traditionally eaten as a late-afternoon snack, they're now finding their way to center stage in some restaurants, where they're eaten as a light meal in much the same way as Spanish tapas.

Bitterballen in Holland

Pop quiz: You're at a cafe in Holland in the waning hours of the afternoon and you want a little snack to go with your beer. What do you order? If you guessed bitterballen, you'll be handsomely rewarded with this national favorite of meaty balls that are rolled in breadcrumbs, then deep-fried and eaten hot and dipped in mustard.

Don't Miss: Bitterballen are traditionally made with beef, but you can also find them made with chicken or, for a vegetarian option, mushrooms.

Where to Try It: One of Amsterdam's many "brown cafes," such as Cafe de Gaeper.

Gaufres in Belgium

Belgium is about to blow your snacking mind. That's because there, gaufres, or waffles, are a snack, not a breakfast item. Even crazier, in Belgium, Belgian waffles don't exist (the term is an Americanism coined in the mid-20th century). Visit and you'll find a variety of waffle types, most famously the Brussels and Liege waffles. Which do you prefer? You won't know until you try both.

Don't Miss: The Brussels waffle is golden brown, rectangular, and has deep divots perfect for holding a bit of whipped cream or spreadable chocolate. The Liege waffle is made with sugar that caramelizes to form a crunchy, sweet exterior.

Fika in Sweden

You know a snack tradition has made the big time when its name is used as both a noun and a verb. That's the case with the Swedish fika, a sort of coffee-and-snack break that is an integral part of every day. There are dozens of ways to do fika right: It can happen at any time of day (but it often occurs in the afternoon), and it can be enjoyed multiple times per day. You can fika at work or with friends.

Don't Miss: Kanelbullar (cinnamon buns) are classic fika treats, as are other pastries and sometimes savory snacks as well.

Meze in Greece

Snacking is often social, but perhaps no other European snack on this list guarantees a party atmosphere like Greek meze. Individual dishes, or mezedhes, grazed upon by people socializing and drinking are the foundations of this tradition. The offerings are known for their variety: You'll find them hot, cold, creamy, piquant, and salty—and uniformly addictive.

Where to Try It: Try Scholarhio in Athens. On Ios, Lord Byron offers traditional but less-known meze options such as local cheese pie and avocado stuffed with taramasalata.

Where in Greece have you had particularly standout mezedhes?

(Photo: Wikimedia Commons via CC Attribution)

Gablec In Croatia

In the spirit of elevenses comes the Croatian late-morning snack of gablec (also called marenda in coastal locales). Usually enjoyed between 10:30 a.m. and noon (and sometimes into the early afternoon), it keeps energy up between breakfast and lunch, which is often eaten later in the day. Gablec looks a lot like a light lunch, and many visitors enjoy it as such.

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